Just a Training Exercise
by Carlson
Summary: They're all fighting for their lives in post-apocalyptic Satan City. No sweat, right? It's just a training exercise, right? Wrong. R&R, please! I do not own DB/DBZ/DBGT, they belong to Akira Toriyama.
1. Enter, OSHS

The class filed slowly and lethargically into their first period classroom, just after the bell sounded. It was a wonder that everybody happened to be on time that day. This class had two chronic tardy students, but it wasn't a mystery as to why. One of them served the police force, and it seemed that the criminals in town had a thing for causing trouble in the early hours of the morning. The other lived five hours away. At any rate, everybody sat down in their usual seats, tiredly pulling out their textbooks, trying to keep from thinking that the week had only just begun.

A horrible smell reached their noses, though, which caused the drowsy high schoolers to look up and actually open their eyes for a change. They all, especially a certain few, were taken aback at what they saw. A blue haired woman was lounging against a wall with a window cracked open and a cigarette in her hand. Her eyes were closed, but it was obvious who it was.

Suddenly it was pandemonium. Students were screaming her name and running trying to get to her, but she just smiled and shook her head. After so many years of being famous, she was used to all the fan love. The class's instructor took to the room and silenced the crowd. While she was a small aging woman, she instilled fear into the teenagers with her nonexistent temper and wild eyes.

"Sit down!" she commanded. Without missing a beat, the feral students backed away into their chairs. The teacher composed herself and took her own chair. "I see you have noticed our special guest today." The woman scowled as she turned to the "special guest". "PUT OUT THAT CIGARETTE! THIS IS A CLASSROOM!" The blue haired woman took one final drag out of the thing and then tossed it out the window into a puddle with surprising accuracy. The professor calmed herself again. "I believe she can speak for herself."

The blue haired woman took to the front of the class, taking a deep breath and opened her eyes for the first time since the students had arrived. "Hello," she started, "I am Bulma Briefs, as you all know." She smiled and gave a wink, a look that had graced the covers of magazines everywhere. "You might be thinking, 'Why is the beautiful and super intelligent Bulma Briefs in my classroom? All my dreams are coming true!' Well, I've got your answer right here." She clicked a button on a small metal pod and dropped it beside her. It exploded into a puff of smoke, and when it cleared, a stack of papers appeared. She dropped another capsule, this time a tiny robot came from behind the smoke.

The droid took the papers and began to pass them out at a great speed. "These papers are permission slips as well as insurance waivers and instructions. Take a look at the first page." The students did as they were told. "As you can see, this is a special project that is being conducted by my company, Capsule Corporation. Your class has been chosen randomly out of all the schools in the area to take part in this." The classroom started to buzz. The teacher glared again.

"SHUT UP WHILE MRS. BRIEFS IS TALKING!"

Immediate silence followed.

"Er, thank you." The teacher smiled kindly. "As I was saying, your class will be the only ones taking part in this experiment. Our planet has had some rather unfortunate events take place in the past fifteen or twenty years. Many of these occurrences could have ended with the death of many people and the destruction of the world as we know it. So, as the future generation of Earth, my company devised a way to see if you all are prepared enough to survive in a post-apocalyptic world."

"Yeah, like that would ever happen with Mr. Satan around," sniggered a disrespectful blond in the back of the room. The professor gave him a menacing scowl and he quieted himself.

"You will be taken to a remote island that hasn't been touched in around twelve years. Or, at least, until my team and I refitted it to mimic the ruins that may be Satan City after, say, Cell blew up most of the Earth. From there you will only have the clothes on your back, an empty storage capsule, and whatever survival instinct you may possess.

"Now, before you get all twitchy, if you are put into a position where it is sure you will die, such as from starvation, an animal attack, or disease, I will dispatch droids to go and get you and bring you to safety. This is simply a test. There is _no _reason to go all psycho and try to kill anyone. I want you to take these forms home to your parents. Look them over. Remember, this is a required study. You will be perfectly safe." Bulma gave another smile-wink combination. "I hope you're as excited for this as I am!" The class looked wary. "Any questions?"

Immediately a pale arm shot up. "Is it completely necessary for those of us who work for the police force to attend this? If there is an emergency-"

"Yes," interrupted the woman. "If you don't attend this study, our statistics will be thrown completely off. Besides, I'm especially curious to see just how well the daughter of the famed Hercule Satan fares in a simple test of survival."

"But if duty calls-"

"Then the police will take care of it. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be able to find somebody to fill in for you if need be." Bulma stared off into space for a moment, murmuring, "I'm sure I can get Yamcha to do whatever I want still..."

The owner of the pale arm and awful attitude slumped back into her chair, utterly silenced. An unnamed student with glasses and an unfortunate haircut raised his hand. "Um, excuse me, Ms. Briefs, er, how long will this survival last?"

"As long as it has to," answered the genius vaguely. "This test will continue until there is just one person left who can take the heat of being on their own. It could even six months or longer. But for you... I'd say about three weeks tops." The bespectacled teenager gulped. "I suggest you take these home to your parents as soon as school lets out. You'll have one week from today to prepare for this." Once again, she flashed the smile-wink combo. "See you next Monday." She waved and walked out of the room, hastily pulling a fresh cigarette from her purse.

* * *

The Son home was relatively small. Maybe that's why the seven year old Goten was always found outside. Or maybe it was because it was in the middle of the lush 439 Mountain Area. Goten's older brother, Gohan, was just returning home from the fateful day at school, driving Goten mad. He loved his older brother.

"Gohan! Gohan! How was school?" he squealed. "Anything exciting happen? Don't say no because I'll know your lying cause Trunks told me his mom was gonna visit your class today to tell you about the experiment that she's gonna have your class do next week."

"Eh, yes, then," said the older brother, utterly perplexed at how Goten could talk to fast. "I've gotta go talk to mom, squirt, 'kay? I'll play with you later." He detached the boy from his shoulder and entered the dome-shaped house. Not surprisingly, his mother, Chi Chi, was waiting for him at the kitchen table.

"Gohan! How was school? Anything unusual happen today?"

_Very tactful, mom_, thought Gohan, rubbing his forehead. "Well, I got this permission slip-"

"Permission slip? For what, exactly?" Yes, his mother was well informed. "Is it by any chance for a survival project for Capsule Corporation?"

Gohan feinted surprise. "How'd you know, mom?"

"Oh, you know, news travels around... let me see this paper." She snatched it from his hands and began furiously reading it over, scribbling her name, checking off boxes, and filling in information. Gohan sighed.

* * *

"What an interesting experiment, huh, Videl?" said the ever bubbly Erasa. "Sounds super exciting." She frowned a bit, something she did not do very often because she wanted to prevent frown lines. "I don't know how I'll do, though. I bet you'll be the last one standing!"

"Yeah, yeah..." The raven-haired police worker was staring at the paper as the pair walked. "I wonder how Gohan'll do."

Erasa gasped. "You're concerned for him! How romantic!" She clasped her hands together and got starry-eyed.

"Shut it, Erasa. I'm not concerned, just curious. I mean, he can't even take a punch well, am I right? How'll he survive in post-apocalyptic Satan City with nothing but an empty capsule and those stupid orange pants?" Videl flipped a page of the form over. "It just seems to me like he'll be one of the first ones out of the project."

"Maybe. I believe in him, though! He's so smart, I'll be he knows just how to handle a situation like that!"

"Perhaps... but intellect can only get you so far, Erasa. What he really needs is physical stamina and mental toughness. I've heard that intelligent people tend to have high sanity levels, but anyone's bound be thrown off when they're thrust into a world that's destroyed by an evil android, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Then how do you think you'll do? You're smart _and_ you've got physical stamina and mental whatever."

"I don't know how I'll do, Erasa. As much as I'd hate to admit it, this isn't a fight I can simply win by using my fists. I've genuinely got to prepare."

Erasa gasped again. The great Videl Satan, wary about her position? Scandalous!

The days in preparation for the survival experiment were tense. Most of the students had fallen silent. Even Sharpner and his huge ego were subdued a bit, yet he didn't refrain from calming himself with a few reassuring jabs at Gohan. "Hey, nerd-boy, I give you a day to live," he snickered. Gohan sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that day. Of course, he was sighing so much because Sharpner had been saying the same thing to him all day.

"I'll bet you do," was all the "nerd-boy" offered as a response. This made Sharpner profoundly angry, as his all his insults were ineffective. "I suggest that you spend less time mocking me and more time preparing yourself for the weeks to come."

"Ha! Like I need to prepare! I train everyday at _the_ Satan Dojo! I'm hands down the strongest guy in this whole school! I could knock you over with a sneeze!" Gohan was slightly amused at how he said, "guy" and not "person". He supposed that even Sharpner and his ego that could fill up a football stadium couldn't even make himself think he was stronger than Videl.

"You're gonna need more than just brute strength to survive, Sharpner... _idiot!_" commented the girl in question. "It's gonna take wits to figure out how to live when you don't have any food or whatever. Especially if it's a bio-disaster that causes the apocalypse. I mean, _anything _could be contaminated, right? Stop being such a gas bag and use that brain of yours!" Videl poked him hard in the ribs.

Gohan suppressed a giggle. Sharpner's face, a mix of embarrassment and hurt, was absolutely priceless. Gohan only wished he'd had a camera on him to capture this moment for all posterity. Yes, he could see it now: Sharpner- the Face of Pathetic. His joy faded when he got down to Videl's words. Three days of their precious seven (including Monday), had already passed. They didn't have much time left. They literally had to think of all the possibilities. Famine? A bombing? Disease? Mutations? Destruction by an outside force such as Cell? The list was endless. The smile was wiped off of his face and Gohan went straight back to meditating.

* * *

Bulma Briefs was a close family friend to the Sons. Gohan had considered trying to get some information out of her or her son, Trunks. He was seriously thinking about using the latter, for Trunks was his brother's best friend. He could get all kinds of info about the conditions if he wanted to. _No, _he thought, _I mustn't. I already have an unfair advantage!_ He nodded to himself righteously.

As the days wore on, things got more and more tense at Orange Star High School. All classes had been canceled for the training students, yet they were still required to attend the school for 'observation'. Bulma had installed a series of cameras, as well as dispatched a substantial amount of recording droids to watch them. She spent most of her day watching them, paying close attention to the top contenders. "Look like it's going to be close," said one of her assistants conversationally.

"Nonsense!" shouted Bulma's husband, a short man with a temper worse than the teacher and ridiculous strength to back it up. He was odd and pissed of at all times, so it was a wonder why the genius had married him, let alone have a child with him. "This is obviously going to be won by Kakarot's brat. I would expect nothing less. Surely he understands that he simply cannot lose out to a human!"

The assistant stared at Vegeta, half afraid, half confused. "What do you mean by that?"

"What do I mean? Are you serious?" He turned menacingly towards the assistant.

"Veggie, calm down," ordered Bulma as she lit up another cigarette. She took a long drag from it. Ah... nothing could soothe her stressed brain like a cigarette. "It's not a competition. Simply an exercise to see just how soft this generation has become."

The short man quieted himself, but he still glowered at the assistant.

The final days were not a blur like most of the class had hoped. They'd dragged on slowly and painfully, as if you mock them. With each day that was crossed off of the calender, it seemed like a personal "fuck you!" from the system. While some tried to pass this experiment off as just an exercise, the permission forms and insurance papers and the seriousness with which the instructions were written hinted otherwise. Furthermore, Bulma Briefs took her work very seriously, even if she was a celebrity who wouldn't be caught dead in secondhand jeans.

* * *

Finally, Sunday afternoon arrived. All the forms had been collected two nights earlier. There was literally no going back now. A jetcopter landed in front of each student's home, each one piloted by one of Bulma's employees. The one in the copter that landed in the 439 area house looked disgruntled. "I swear, I didn't even know people lived out here!" he grumbled. Gohan warily walked out of his home, followed by Chi Chi and Goten.

"C'mon, kid, hurry it up. We've got a long trip back," barked the anthropomorphic dog. Gohan did as he was told, for he was trained to do that, especially in Chi Chi's household, and it seemed to work out for him.

"Bye, Gohan!" squeaked his little brother, waving madly.

"Be careful, okay? Don't get yourself hurt! I'll be watching everyday!" called his mother as the jetcopter took off.

_Watching?_ Wondered Gohan. Just what could that mean? Was she going to observe from Capsule Corporation with Bulma? He shrugged.

* * *

"Show 'em what you've got, Videl! You've got Satan blood in you! Don't you forget that!" yelled Hercule as his daughter flew away on her own jetcopter. She was a bit nervous, though she'd never admit it. She glared out the windshield of the copter, trying to figure out her destination. Were they going to go straight to the island, or were they going down to West City to meet with Bulma one more time? She sighed hotly.

As she flew, her jetcopter met up with the others. She was surprised to see Gohan's there, too. The anthropomorphic dog piloting the contraption looked utterly pissed off, so she figured he'd had to get up pretty damn early to make it to the 439 Mountain Area and back in time to catch up. Erasa was waving wildly at her best friend from her own copter. Videl smiled a bit and feebly waved back. After that, though, she put on her most determined face. _I'm not weak,_ she thought to herself.

* * *

It was West City that they were taken to after all. They were brought into Capsule Corporation, but they weren't greeted with Bulma, but with her father. He had a cigarette in the corner of his mouth and a black cat perched on his shoulder. His hair was white and huge round glasses covered his eyes.

"Welcome to Capsule Corporation. Bulma's a bit busy with preparations for tomorrow, so I'll be your guide for now. You will all be taken to the dining hall for dinner and then you will each be assigned a room. You are to stay in that room for the remainder of the night. Tomorrow morning, you will all be taken to the island. Understand?"

There was a chorus of "Yup"s.

"Okay, then follow me!" Doctor Briefs smiled and waved for them to trail him. He walked slowly and talked animatedly about his work and the facilities. He would stop to explain and room or two, but nothing was very interesting to the tense students. "Oh, come on, now! Calm down! We're going to dinner!" Obviously the doctor didn't like being ignored. With no response, Doctor Briefs muttered to himself angrily.

"Are we ever going to get to dinner?" whined Sharpner. Gohan was wondering the very same thing. His stomach was completely empty. He hadn't eaten since nine that morning, and it was already five in the afternoon. He had an enormous appetite that eclipsed all of the rest of the student's combined. If he didn't get food fast, somebody wasn't going to have an arm anymore.

"Don't get your panties in a twist," squawked the doctor. "The dining room's right up here." He opened the door, revealing an almost dazzlingly white room filled with tables upon tables. Sadly, there was no food in sight. But, there were people. "Oh, don't mind the family." He was referring the short man with black flames for hair, otherwise known as Vegeta and the eight-year-old with lavender hair sitting at a counter with stacks of empty plates in front of them.

"Gohan!" squealed Trunks, the kid. He tried to run over to him, but his father grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Sit down, boy. Remember what your mother said," spat Vegeta. Trunks looked at his father's scowling face, and whatever expression he had on was a mystery because he was facing away from the students. "If there's anything we don't want, it's to anger her when she's like this, understand?"

"Yes, sir," nodded the child.

Videl turned to Erasa and whispered, "That's got to be some form of child abuse."

Before Erasa could respond, however, Vegeta was already up in Videl's face. "Excuse me? Are you opposed to my parenting methods?" Gohan closed his eyes in embarrassment and braced himself for what might come next. _Please don't say anything back, Videl..._ he thought desperately.

"Yeah, I am. You shouldn't pick up your kid and yell at him like that," boldly stated Videl.

_Damn it!_ Gohan sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Vegeta _very_ sarcastically. "Didn't your parents ever tell you about respecting your elders?"

"Yeah, they did, but I'm afraid that I can't respect those who abuse their children."

"And just who _are_ your parents who have such a good way at looking at things. From my point of view, everything I'm doing here is perfect."

"Her dad's the amazing, the incredible, the unparalleled Hercule Satan!" piped in Sharpner. He even had poses to go along with the introduction that were even more ridiculous than those of the Great Saiyaman. The poses were so ridiculous that Sharpner could be first pick to join the Ginyu Force if they were still around.

"Oh, _really_?" sneered Vegeta.

_Oh man, oh man, oh man!_ Thought Gohan. Sweat was pouring down his face. _What am I gonna do? Shit, this is terrible!_

"There's only one person that I hate more than that lying, cheating, worthless, stupid, weakling _Hercule Satan_. Just saying his name makes me want to vomit," growled the short man.

"Hey!" called out Gohan suddenly. "Why don't we all just calm down here a bit, okay? No need for anyone to get hurt, is there? Let's just sit down an eat, right? I mean, I'm not the only one who's starved, right? Come on, guys, let's just go pick a table." He laughed falsely after that.

Videl glowered at Vegeta one last time before following Gohan and the others to one of the glimmering white tables. "This isn't the last you've seen of me," she hissed at him before she left.

He just glared in response.

Food had come and gone, and the students were safely in there own rooms, free from any interference from the ever grouchy Vegeta. He had resigned himself to the specially designed gravity bending room to train... or rather, blow of some steam in his own special way. The noises from the room could be heard in only a few of the rooms, but they weren't loud enough for anyone to care about, so nobody bothered to ask about them.

Sharpner and a few of the other students had fallen asleep while the rest lay awake on their final night of being in a bed for quite some time. Sharpner was dreaming of tomorrow.

_"Oh, Sharpner, you're so cool! Only you could have survived this long in this wasteland! Not even I, Videl Satan, daughter of the great Hercule Satan, could withstand being without food or water for as long as you have! You're my hero!" she melts into his arms, so vulnerable in her weakened state. "You're so much cooler than that nerd Gohan! He could only last two hours! What a wimp! What a loser! You're so much cooler, Sharpner!" _

_ "I know, baby. Let's get going, shall we?" he smiles at Videl and picks her up. _

_ "You're so strong!" she sighs._

_ He takes a running start and leaps into the sky, landing on the clouds. He sits on one with Videl next to him and they fly off into the sunset._

Sharpner rolled over in his sleep, snoring once and smiling.


	2. Let the Games Begin

Morning came way too abruptly. The students of Orange Star High School were greeted in the morning by neatly folded clothes on a shelf and a white capsule labeled "0",meaning that it was empty. Videl took the clothes in her hands and unfolded them. She figured that she should put these on. She didn't particularly want to. She was used to her regular old clothes. Maybe that was why she was given new ones. It didn't matter, however. The door was locked and it was likely that she wouldn't be allowed out until she was dressed appropriately.

* * *

The students were rounded up by anthropomorphic cats and dogs after each one had dressed and taken their capsule. Gohan felt a little uncomfortable. Had Bulma planned this for him? It seemed highly likely that she did. He was donning a bright orange training _gi_ with his family symbol on the front and back. Perhaps it was a memento to help him remember his training? He shook his head. It didn't matter, really.

Sharpner felt studly. He felt godlike. He felt like a beast. "Whatever this thing is, it shows off my muscles." He smiled at himself in the mirror. He, too, was wearing a training _gi,_ but his was blue. I fact, each of the boys was wearing a different variations of a training _gi. _Only Gohan's had a symbol on it, though.

As for the girls, they wore knee-length spandex shorts and a long shirt over it. Videl's shirt was black with her last name written in white across the back. Erasa's a bright pink, which was much to her joy. It was her favorite color, after all. She was giggling at the sight of Gohan's muscles. "Hey, Videl, Gohan sure looks good in his outfit, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, whatever, Erasa. What does the symbol on there mean? _Son_?"

"I don't know," shrugged her friend.

"I'll ask him. Goha-"

"Everybody inta a jetcoptuh. We'ah headin' out tuh the island!" barked one of Bulma's workers.

"What? No breakfast?" shrieked Sharpner.

"Get ovuh it, princess. We'ah leavin' now! Get ya reahs in geah! Inta a coptuh!"

Sharpner grumbled a bit, but finally complied.

* * *

The island was a complete replica of Satan City. That is, if a complete replica included all of the explosions and damage that had been done to it. The students were utterly horrified. Was this their supposed home? What disaster had occurred to make it this way? Videl detected no boiling cesspools of toxic matter, so it was unlikely that a bio-disaster had caused this. The jetcopters landed and departed as soon as the rider hopped off. The group of wary students were met with a blond man with a sword strapped to his back.

"Welcome to Satan City," he greeted them, his face completely emotionless. "The city was destroyed by two killer androids just yesterday. They weren't taken out and it's likely they'll be back, so you'd better find shelter as quickly as possible." He looked up quickly. "In fact, here they come now." Two figures touch down on either side of the blond. "This is Seventeen," he pointed to the male android (a/n mandroid?). He had chin length black hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a white long sleeve shirt under a black short sleeve shirt, an orange scarf, jeans, bright green socks, and sneakers. He also wore an infuriatingly devilish smile.

"It'll feel good to rampage again, won't it, sis?" he murmured suavely.

His "sis" was identified as Eighteen by the blond. She had chin length blond hair and blue eyes. She wore a black and white striped shirt under black tank top and cropped jean vest. The shirt and tank top were tucked into a belted jean skirt. Underneath the skirt she wore black leggings, which was a good thing if she was going to kick anything. Brown boots went up to her mid-calf.

"Yes, I believe it will feel good. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Far too long, I'd say."

"Yes, far too long."

"Hey, is that Gohan?"

"I think it is."

Seventeen smirked and giggled a bit. "Then this should be interesting."

"Very."

They both laugh a single time before flying off again.

"Now that you've been introduced to your enemies, you should report to your former homes. You will be guided there through the use of these radio devices." He passed around an earpiece to each teenager. "You were also chipped last night while you were sleeping, so we'll be able to track you."

"What? You chipped us?" Videl was outraged. "Isn't that illegal!"

"Your parents are aware and consented to it. If we didn't chip you, how are we supposed to find you?" The blond man sighed and shook his head. That silenced the World Martial Arts Champion's daughter. She wasn't happy about it, though. Maybe that could explain the slight stinging in her arm.

"You should get going" were the blond man's final words to them before he disappeared.

Gohan scanned the group. Most of them were in hysterics at the sight of the killer androids. He was finding this whole experience to be a pain. Suddenly he heard a voice in his right ear, the one with the transmitter. "You will be starting off in the ruins of the high school. It's mostly in tact. It shouldn't be hard to find. You have ten minutes to get there and get settled." He took off running.

Erasa, on the other hand, was devoid of her usual bubbly nature. Up until this point, she had been looking upon this project with a positive disposition, like some kind of meager field trip. Once she saw the broken walls of her beloved house, she burst into tears. This was far more than she'd bargained for. _Keep it together, Erasa. As soon as we get going, just find Videl. She'll know what to do._ That soothed her psyche for the moment.

Sharpner hadn't lost his cool, though. "Pff, what lame androids. I'll bet I could destroy them with a single punch. Heh. I can take them." His house had been completely flattened by the androids, but it didn't faze him one bit. "How lame." He laughed. Still, though, the site was eery. "I wonder what Videl's place looks like."

* * *

Well, Videl's place looked like a mess. That's probably because it was a mess. It was mostly in one piece, but there were still holes in some walls and parts of the ceiling. Most of the mess was _inside _of the house. All of Videl's drawers, which disturbingly held all of the things the ones at her real house did, had been gone through. Some of the clothing had been picked out, tried on, and thrown off to the side. The kitchen was untouched, but it made sense that the androids, not needing food, would keep out of the place. Still, the fighter felt a troubled by the fact that her clothes had been gone through. Apparently nothing seemed appealing, as she couldn't detect that anything was missing. Trust me, Videl didn't have that many items. She would know.

* * *

Gohan was perhaps the most uneasy of the bunch. He was confident that he could survive in this wasteland of a city. I mean, he'd lived for six months completely on his own when he was _four_ for Kami's sake. Still, he couldn't help think of the androids, both of which he had met before. Eighteen, the girl, was actually even married and had a kid with one of his close family friends. Gohan knew that she wasn't hostile most of the time, so she wouldn't really hurt anybody, would she?

But thoughts of his friend from the future trickled in from the recesses of his brain. They'd destroyed his home, laughing the whole. Hell, they'd even _killed_ Gohan's alternate future self. So that was why he was uneasy. That, and the fact that if he was to be attacked (which was highly likely, going on what the siblings had said to each other), all his secrets would be revealed, which is something that the teenager had been trying ever so hard not to happen. He sighed again. It was going to be a long experiment.

* * *

"Everyone has reached their starting positions. It's time to begin. Ready? Well, it doesn't really matter if you are or not, because either way, you've got two killer androids heading your way. Better find some place to hide. Good luck." Videl's face twisted at the condescending manner in which the blond man spoke through the transmitter. He chuckled a couple of times. "Begin!"

Videl had been weighing her options for a while now. She could stay here, in her ruined home. The chances of the androids returning here seemed slim. They'd already gone through all of her stuff. Why would they want to come back? Or she could bolt and find Erasa to make sure she was safe. And if she found Erasa, she'd have to find Sharpner. And if she found Sharpner, she'd have to find Gohan. And then she'd have a party of four, and that would be hard to conceal. Especially with Gohan's size. Her brow crinkled.

"I guess I'll just stay here. Erasa's probably coming to find me. Anyone who shows up here can stick around, but I'm not going to look for anyone." She smiled proudly at her decision. Then, her face went serious. _I can't let my guard down for a second. I've got to wait for the androids to come and go, then I've got to find some supplies and fast. If I don't hurry, some knucklehead is going to clean them out. _She tensed up. Maybe she should just head for what's left of the city's grocery stores? _No, _she told herself. _Erasa first. Then food._

And the blond airhead best friend of the fighter was coming. She was running frantically through the street to where she remembered Satan Manor to be located. She'd only ever gone the way a million times. Or maybe a million and one. She couldn't remember.

Anyway, Erasa was running as fast as her ballet flats would let her (she just wouldn't wear the sneakers provided. They just didn't go with her outfit). Finally the white walls of the manor came into view. She was relieved to see that it was mostly in one piece. She was just hoping that Videl had stayed put. If Erasa had to run any further, she was sure that her makeup would start to run. And, as we all know, that would just be a disaster.

She bolted up the stairs, taking them three at a time (something she didn't know how she managed to do), and skidded into Videl's room. "Videl!" she squeaked, gasping for air. Her friend hurried over in concern.

"Erasa, what the hell? Why are you so sweaty? You hate being sweaty!" Videl tried desperately to fan the girl. It looked like she'd sprinted all the way here, which was a good thing because that is precisely what had happened.

"I" -puff, puff- "ran" -puff- "all the way" -puff, puff- "here as fast" -heave- "as I could." Cough, cough, wheeze.

"Take it easy, okay? We're going to stay here for a while. Let's head down to the basement."

* * *

Meanwhile, a certain blond's mother was teary-eyed, sitting in front of a 42" high-definition television. "Oh, Erasa, just hang in there! It's going to be okay! Just remember, dab, don't rub! Otherwise you'll have streaking..." she faded off into sobs. Certainly it must be horrifying to watch your daughter's face be debeautified on live television.

Wait.

Live television?

Since when did that happen?

Well, since none of us seem to know, I'll just take a shot in the dark.

* * *

Bulma Briefs sat in her monitoring room with a cigarette in her hand. She really wanted to quit, but there was nothing that could relieve her stress better than tobacco. She knew the smell horribly irritated her husband, but at this point, she didn't care. The usually glamorous technology whiz was in shambles. She'd spent hours upon hours working on the final touches of this experiment. That wasn't what was bothering her, though.

What was bothering her was something entirely different.

When she had first proposed the idea (this was just after Cell had been defeated and the future version of son Trunks had gone back to his own timeline), her sponsors would only accept it if they put it on live television and made the stakes even higher than they were. They suggested adding a deadly enemy (cue the androids), less than desirable conditions (cue the destroyed city), and a fight-to-the-death-last-man-standing competition. Naturally, Bulma was opposed to the idea. She could only think of her good friends the Sons. Gohan was in the right age group to be chosen to compete. She couldn't have him put in a situation like that!

Then again, the chances of his class being chosen out of the thousands upon thousands in the entire world were incredibly small. So she, very solemnly, agreed to the proposition. It was the only way to open people's eyes up about the fact that their "World Champion Cell-Slaying Hero" Mr. Satan could only do so much. That is, if he could do anything at all.

It was only by a stroke of luck (or by a stroke of unluckiness, if you will), that Gohan's class was chosen. It just so happened that Mr. Satan's daughter had been picked as well, and Bulma's nightmare truly began. She didn't doubt her good friend's skills, in fact, she was convinced he was going to be the winner. But then she remembered something crucial.

She'd slated the two androids that had once tried to kill her very good friend Goku, Gohan's father, to be the adversaries that the teenagers would face. Certainly the androids would remember Gohan from the last time they saw each other roughly six or seven years ago. That would make Gohan's blending in with the crowd very difficult.

You see, these two androids have a thing for having fun. When they're bored, they don't just leave and find something else to do, they completely obliterate whatever it is that they were doing earlier (i.e., the students). So that meant if they were to find a student (let's say some untrained, wimpy nerd), and he didn't give them enough entertainment to last them a while, they'd kill him and then move on. Surely they were going to find Gohan first (they'd already seen him, after all. Their words had been recorded with microphones and amplified so the audience could hear).

Bulma took a long drag of the cigarette. She knew full well that Gohan's alternate future self had been brutally murdered by these two androids (or rather their future counterparts) despite his incredible strength and ability. She also knew that Gohan hadn't been training since the defeat of Cell. That was something she knew very well because her husband would gripe about it daily. If he hadn't retained his level of skill that he'd had when he fought the abominable bio-android Cell, the fight with the androids wouldn't be pretty.

The genius thought about inviting the boy's mother and brother over to watch the raw cut of the footage (the "live" broadcast was actually on a thirty-second time delay), but she'd ultimately decided against it. In those precious thirty seconds of delay, Bulma could ensure that anything too gruesome could be cut from the screens of millions. She knew that Chi Chi wouldn't like that, but hey, she didn't have to know.

Bulma wondered if it was a good decision not to inform the students about the broadcast. _"No,"_ the sponsors had said. _"It would only make them that more nervous. We want their reactions to be real."_ The genius mouthed the words in a mocking way. "What kind of sponsor wants to see teenagers die on television?" she grumbled. "I mean, really? They don't even know. I told them we'd get them out if it came to it." She buried her face in her hands, forgetting the cigarette that poked out of her mouth. Her palm came crashing down on it, burning her skin. "Shit," she growled.

* * *

Chi Chi and her second son were watching intently. Right now all the screen was showing was Videl and her friend walking down into her basement. Suddenly it cut away. "Gohan?" chirped Chi Chi hopefully. Her father, who'd come down from his home that morning after Gohan had left, placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Chi Chi. I'm sure Gohan's fine," he smiled at her. The Ox-King (that was his name, no joke), had a way with making people happy, even if he did look pretty scary with his giant size. I mean, his head almost reached the ceiling!

"Oh, quiet," snapped the woman. "I want to see my baby!"

The Ox-King sighed. When she got like this, all you could do was sedate her if it got to bad.

* * *

Though he didn't know it, millions of people were watching him right now. If he had been aware, he would have been hamming it up even more. He was running- almost prancing- along the street. He was heading over to Satan Dojo. Sharpner's long blond hair was flowing behind him, and he felt utterly manly in his _gi_. Every once in a while he would stop and flex his arm muscles for a thrill. "Come on out, androids! Think you can take me!" He half-whispered this.

What was clearly astonishing is that all the students outside (which was a little over half), hadn't bothered to look up the entire time. This was stupid because they'd all seen that the androids could fly. And it was in the sky that they could be found. In fact, they were hovering a couple hundred feet above Sharpner.

"He wants us to come out," murmured Seventeen, smiling like a child.

"Aren't we already out?" questioned Eighteen blandly.

"He thinks he's stronger than us."

"Is he?"

"Want to find out?"

"Why not?"

The siblings descended at a breakneck pace, yet they landed neatly in front of Sharpner without making a sound. "Hey, you," yelled the black-haired android. "You wanted to fight us?"

Sharpner took a step back. He tried to keep himself composed. "Er, yeah, but I don't think you'll want to fight _me_! I've been training with the great Hercule Satan!"

Eighteen tossed her head back and giggled. "Don't make me laugh. If anything, that buffoon will make you weaker."

The teenager was scandalized. "What? He is amazing! He won the World Martial Arts Tournament _and_ defeated Cell! Take a look at these muscles! Look! Look at them! Do these look like the muscles of a weakling?"

Seventeen smirked. "Yes."

"Shall we, Seventeen?" proposed his sister.

"We shall."

And so they pounced on him.


	3. The Glare that Killed a Thousand Men

It was just at this moment of heightened entertainment and violence that the broadcast had been forced to go to commercial. Millions of people across the world were angry. And I mean _furious._ No, not because some poor innocent boy was about to be preyed on by two bloodthirsty androids, but because they were missing the action! Chi Chi was the most upset. She grabbed Goten and her father (which was no small feat), threw them in her hovercar, and went speeding over to Capsule Corporation.

"Welcome to Capsule Corporation, do you have an appointment?" asked a polite robot through the gate voice box.

"I don't _need_ a damn appointment. Let me in, Bulma!" screeched the mother.

There was silence on the other end.

Then, a click.

"Chi Chi?" asked the blue-haired woman through the voice box. Her voice was tired. She hacked a couple of times. That's what happens when you chain smoke, I guess.

"Bulma, I want to see what's going on, and I want to see it _right now._"

"Fine. Come on in, Chi Chi."

There was another click, and the gate opened. Chi Chi all but dragged her son and father inside.

* * *

Gohan sprang into action. Kind of.

It was more of a "Shit!" followed by some super speed. He arrived at the battleground just a few seconds after the androids started their rampage upon Sharpner. He cursed himself for not moving fast enough. He wouldn't have known where to go, though, if he hadn't just stopped somewhere and felt for the energies of the students. From the first kick that connected with Sharpner's body alone, his _ki_ had dropped considerably.

Gohan wasted no more time. Hastily he kicked Seventeen out of the way as he was charging a blast in his palm. "Oh, I see the entertainment's arrived," muttered the black-haired android. "That's good. This guy wasn't putting up much of a fight."

"Oh, hey, Gohan. Krillin told me to say hi," greeted Eighteen with a kick in the shoulder.

The teenager grimaced, but he didn't fall. The two androids took to the sky. Strangely, so did Gohan. Sharpner, who the other student had thought to be unconscious looked curiously at what was happening. _Man. I must have been kicked in the head or something._ His thoughts became increasingly clouded until blacked out.

* * *

The commercial break ended with a thirty-second advertisement for hovercars. The screens of millions were suddenly turned back to action. And this action was the amazing sight of a boy flying. Hercule Satan shot out of his chair. "FALSEHOOD!" he yelled. "This whole thing is such a scam! That kid can't fly! O' course the androids can 'cause they've got rockets in their feet, but this is just crazy! Get that _Bulma_ woman on the phone!" He slumped back into his chair, resting his afro-covered head on a pillow and stroked his goatee.

"I'm on hold, sir," murmured the servant that the world champion had so rudely yelled at.

* * *

The fight really wasn't all that exciting if you thought about it.

Well, if you thought that kicks, punches, energy blasts and flying wasn't exciting.

Which not many people do.

Gohan was on the defensive. He really wasn't in the mood to fight these two head on. The pair went in for a combo attack, but he dodged. This happened a lot. In fact, that was all that was happening. A _ki_ blast would be shot, only to be dodged. A punch would be thrown, only to be blocked. Finally the twins got bored.

"You know, Eighteen, I recall him being much more feisty," groaned Seventeen.

"Yeah, me too," agreed his sister. "Maybe he's just concerned for his friend over there."

"Maybe. Should be blow them up?"

"Not now. He could be fun later."

"So what should we do instead? This isn't like us."

"I guess not. How about we go raid the mall?"

"We already did that."

"Well, let's do it again."

"Fine."

And so they were off, flying at a breakneck pace. Gohan turned to Sharpner. He wasn't really sure what to do. He didn't exactly have any of the injury-healing senzu beans on him. Maybe he could take him to whatever was left of the hospital to find some medical supplies. That seemed like the best idea at the time (when really it was the only logical thing to do), so he picked up the unconscious egomaniac and started walking. Gohan felt like should be going faster, but he couldn't risk revealing himself. He just jogged alongside the road as if he were trying to keep out of the way of cars.

On the way there, he passed the old Satan Manor. He could detect Videl and Erasa's _ki_s inside the building, way below the ground. _Smart hiding place, Videl._ He pondered whether or not to tell the girls what had just happened.

* * *

After the fight had ended so anticlimactically, Bulma had excused herself to the kitchen. She'd run out of cigarettes and needed to find another pack. This is where she found Yamcha, the star baseball player and secret warrior. He was drinking a bottle of mysterious liquid, but the blue-haired woman refrained from asking its contents.

The man looked at his ex-girlfriend casually. "How's the project going?"

"Fine," answered the genius flatly.

"Oh. That's cool."

"Yup."

"So, tell me again why I have to be Saiyaman?"

Bulma sighed.

"I mean, I'm not even a Saiyan. I'm all human. Besides, I'm not cut out for this superheroing."

"Would you rather I put Vegeta on Saiyaman duty?"

That shut him up. He looked at the watch on his wrist that would transform him into "The Great Saiyaman!". He'd tried on the costume a couple of hours ago. It was ridiculous. It started off with a black one-piece unitard thing covered by a green tunic and a red cape. He wore white boots and white gloves, a black belt, a _helmet _of all things!

"But, Bulma, won't they notice the scar on my chin? I'm pretty sure Gohan's pretty fresh faced."

The genius suddenly located a pack of cigarettes and hastily began lighting one. After she'd had a few puffs, she finally answered. "I've got stuff for that." She put a hand into her pocket and pulled out something horrifying: concealer.

Yamcha squealed. "No!"

"Yup."

* * *

Probably against his better judgment, Gohan decided to enter the Satan mansion and report to Videl. She and Erasa knew Sharpner a hell of a lot better than he did. He also hoped she'd have some medical supplies here. It would save him the trouble of trekking five or ten miles to where the hospital should've been.

He immediately went for the basement stairs located in a closet next to the kitchen, not caring how suspicious the action may be. Slowly he descended them, taking one stair at a time. He wasn't entirely sure why he was going so sluggishly, but at this point, he didn't really care. All he wanted to do was make sure the body lumped over on his shoulder was still alive.

"Eh, Videl?" he called out lamely.

The girl suddenly shot out from behind a wall. Erasa crept out from behind it as well. From the expression on the blond's face, they'd thought the androids had arrived. Obviously they were wrong. Concern flooded the raven-haired fighter's mind.

"What the hell happened to Sharpner?" questioned Videl with urgency.

Gohan laid the teenager on a couch. "He was attacked by the androids." Damn. He hadn't meant for it to come off so casually.

"What?" growled Videl. Erasa was speechless. In fact, she looked like she would faint. "Tell me everything that happened."

The boy pondered it for a moment. "Well, I guess the androids found him first and decided he'd be easy prey... or he was being an asshole and invited them over." He noted the burning look of absolute loathing on Videl's face and made a mental note to choose his words _extremely _carefully. "Um, I found him only a couple seconds after the androids started beating him up. The androids left after I showed up. Beats me why. So I picked him up and brought him here?" Damn. Why did he sound so uncertain? "I was going to bring him to the hospital, but that's really far away and you were right here so..."

"Hate to break it to ya, but I come from a family of martial artists, not doctors. All I know how to do is tape a sprained ankle and the rules about icing an injury," gravely admitted Videl.

"Damn," muttered Gohan. The girls in the room were more than a little shocked to hear the goody-two-shoes swear. "I guess I'll take him to the hospital and see what I can find there..."

"We'll go with you," piped up the fighter as soon as the boy stood up. She wanted to say "I'll", but she couldn't just leave Erasa there all alone. She'd just _sprinted _to her house for Kami's sake.

"Forget about it. I saw those two siblings in action. There's now way I'm going to let you two risk walking out in the open for five or ten miles."

"It's actually only seven and a half."

"Whatever."

"Besides, what's going to happen if those guys _do _show up? Are you going to hope they magically disappear like last time? Admit it, Gohan, I'm the only conscious one here who knows a thing or two about fighting." Videl glared at him with determination. He only blinked. He had no idea how to respond to that.

* * *

"Cha! Come on, Gohan! You will _not_ be shown up by that little bi... witch," yelled Chi Chi. She stared awkwardly at her younger son, embarrassed that she'd almost sworn in front of him. Speaking of which... "And when you get home, we are having a conversation about that language of yours!" As if he could hear her.

"Really, I want to know why those androids left so easily. I was hoping for a good fight. I guess the brat really has gone soft," hissed Vegeta. Normally he would never be found in the same room as that harpy of a woman called Chi Chi, but these were special circumstances. His nose twitched. "Damn it, woman! I will not take any more of that disgusting odor!"

Bulma looked blankly at him, took a deep drag, and then puffed the smoke directly in his face.

That only resulted in infuriating the very short-tempered (and short) man.

"You know, I can think of a better way to relieve your stress that smells much less God-awful." The man smirked.

"Shut it, Vegeta. I don't have time for you to bust a move," dismissed his wife.

* * *

The principal of Orange Star High School had only just realized what he had consented to: a death match between untrained high schoolers and two killer androids. Surprisingly, though, he was having no angry phone calls from the parents of the contestants. Then he realized something else: the parents had consented to this as well.

So he wasn't in trouble!

At least, not that much trouble.

He still had a large stack of papers in front of him, despite these realizations. Most of the stack was a proposal to rename the school in honor of the great Hercule Satan. Frankly, the principal didn't particularly like the guy. To be completely honest, the principal was pretty conservative and all the prancing around and yelling that the champ did really creeped him out. He almost felt like the only one. It was lonely.

Anyway, he'd avoided the dreaded name change for quite some time now, but the superintendent was getting on his case. Unlike the principal, the superintendent was a huge supporter of the martial artist. It was he, not the principal, who'd okay'd Videl on skipping out of class to go fight crime. Now, the principal was as against crime as the next guy, but he had his principles. It just simply wasn't right to send a young girl into the front lines like that!

Furthermore, the girl was Hercule's daughter, which made him dislike her from the start. It wasn't that she wasn't intelligent, in fact it was quite the opposite. Her deductive abilities were beyond her years (and a little bit disturbing). She wasn't loud (though she could give you a could talking to when you got on her nerves). She didn't show off (not on purpose, anyhow. She had others to spread the word of her greatness for her). But, the one thing she was was the one thing the principal could not stand. She was aggressive. And a little bit paranoid, but come on, who isn't?

The ultimate reason to his absolute distaste for Videl was because she was always suspecting him of some kind of crime. Did she know that he didn't approve of her father? It wasn't his fault if he started sweating bullets every time she stared at him. She had one of those glares. It was the special type of glare that made you stop moving and immediately start questioning your own innocence. There was something about the way her face looked when she scowled like that. Her eyes would turn to slits and her mouth would become a flat line. Once you were trapped in it, there was no getting out alive.

* * *

And this was the exact glare that Videl was giving a certain Gohan Son right then.

"Is there a reason you're looking at me like that?"

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"How can you carry Sharpner around like that? I hate saying this, but he's actually pretty muscular."

"So?"

"For a nerd you're pretty stupid."

"...?"

"He weighs like, 220, 225 pounds. I saw him weigh in at the Dojo."

"Yeah..."

"And your carrying him around with one arm as if you do it all the time."

"Oh."

"Care to explain?"

"I work out?"

Man. He was lame.

* * *

"Hey, Seventeen."

"Yeah?"

"Why'd we let him go again?"

"I dunno. He was boring. Maybe when he's left starved and desperate he'll fight us?"

"Maybe."

"Hey, Eighteen, isn't that the hospital over there?"

"Yeah."

"Does it look way too in tact for you?"

"Yes."

"Shall we blow it up?"

"Let's."

* * *

And in a nondescript part of Videl's basement, Gohan Son was most certainly fucked.

Well, not _fucked_, but you know what I mean.

For one thing, he was being stared at in a way he'd never been stared at before. It was a way that made him feel stone cold and he was starting to question his own innocence. For another, the androids that had so kindly allowed him and Sharpner to flee were just about to set off some fireworks in the hospital that was so desperately needed if Sharpner was ever going to walk again. Lastly, his mother was planning a mental ass whooping at the sight of his weakness in front of a woman, not to mention his usage of swear words.

Without a word, the three conscious teenagers in the basement of Satan Manor found their way outside, Videl glaring at Gohan all the way. They loitered around outside for just a moment, but it was long enough to hear the giant explosion that resounded across the entire city.

"Um, Videl?" stuttered the tall nerd.

"Yeah?" she sneered back.

"Isn't that in the general direction of the hospital?"

"Yup."

"Damn."

* * *

And it was at this moment that Hercule Satan finally connected with Capsule Corporation. "Hello, how can I help you?" Strangely enough, it was not a robot who answered.

"This is the great Hercule Satan and I need to speak with Bulma Briefs _immediately_!" he roared into the phone.

"Please hold."

"Not again!"

* * *

**Will Hercule ever get to talk to Bulma? Will Yamcha ever live this down? Will Gohan survive "the glare"? These questions and more may or may not be answered next time!**


	4. Questionable Sanity

It seemed like the criminals were the only ones not totally engrossed in the new television phenomenon. Yamcha cursed this fact. He was hoping they'd get a cheap thrill watching innocent teenagers slaughtered. Apparently they didn't. So he was forced to don the ridiculous costume to protect both his and Gohan's identity, slap some concealer over his manly chin scar and fly off to stop some half-wit bank robbers.

He hadn't ever seen the Ginyu Force in action, but he'd heard stories. They were a ridiculous group of aliens trained well in fighting, but really, they just sounded like a bunch of morons. He tried to channel that ridiculousness into himself. "I," -poseposepose- "am" -poseposepose- "the" -poseposepose- "Great Saiyaman!" and big finish. He stopped, feet apart, one hand on his hip, one pointing into the sky. "I will protect this city" -jog in place- "from criminals" -freeze- "like you!" and point at them. He'd practiced the routine far too many times.

He really needed a girlfriend.

"Hey, doesn't Saiyaman sound a little weird to you, eh?" asked one cop to another.

"Maybe he's sick, eh?"

"Yeah, probably, eh?"

"Wrongdoers" -poseposepose- "prepare" -poseposepose- "to meet" -poseposepose- "your fate!" and big finish! Finally Yamcha sprung into action, running up to the would-be robbers, deflecting their bullets, kicking them all in the face, rounding them up, and putting them into custody.

"Thanks, Saiyaman. Ya really got our back with Videl doin' that thing, don't ya know," thanked the chief.

"You're" -poseposepose- "welcome! Call anytime you need me!" Yamcha burst off into the air and flew away, sighing and cursing his life.

* * *

Speaking of lame men in costume, Hercule Satan was _this _close to stomping all the way over to West City himself. That is, if you knew how far _"this" _was. Anyway, his eyes were glued to the television. "That's right, Videl. Show that kid! Tell him that he can't fly! Don't lose out to a sucker like him! What's his name?"

"I believe it is Gohan Son, sir," answered the servant in a soft British accent.

"Oh, right. Why does that name sound familiar?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure the previous World Martial Arts Champion was a man by the name of Goku Son."

"Oh, right."

There was a pause.

"Wait a minute! You mean that guy with his crazy light shows?" Hercule frowned. "GO VIDEL! NEVER BACK DOWN!" The servant was confused. Just what exactly caused this furious change? It didn't matter, he got paid anyway.

* * *

Gohan had a pretty good feeling that the strong feeling that the hospital had been completely destroyed.

Wait, bad word choice.

Let's just say he had be _strong_ feeling.

But they were going anyway.

Erasa was in compete hysterics. She was hyperventilating (Videl could get her to breathe normally in three minute stretches). She was sweating bullets (which wasn't helping her complexion). It was hard to tell if she was crying or if that was just more sweat. It was really gross, actually.

Videl hadn't stopped glaring. She only took breaks when she was telling Erasa to take deep breaths ("In, out... in, out. No, not inoutinoutinout! Goddammit, Erasa!"). She was happy to have those breaks because honestly, her death stare really hurt her face muscles. Still, she was determined to get some information out of him. How could a guy who'd never played baseball until high school be strong enough to carry around Sharpner, his muscles, _and_ his ego like he was a sack of potatoes? Mashed ones at that (why anyone would have a sack of mashed potatoes, she would never know).

She could see no progress being made. He just ignored her. Except for the occasional, "Do you think that explosion really came from the hospital?", which she always answered with a "I've got no fucking idea". He was a rock. But, unfortunately for him, she was a chisel.

"Hey, Gohan, so did you just start working out when you learned about this?"

"Uh, well, I used to work out with my dad up until about seven years ago. Then I just picked it up again when this came up."

"Why'd you stop?"

"Well... my dad died, so..."

Man, that was mad awkward. Videl wasn't expecting that.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm sure he's happy."

"So did he train you or something?"

"Yeah. This is our family symbol."

"Oh."

Wait. Why did _he_ have his family symbol on his.

"Why do _you_ have your family symbol on yours but nobody else does?"

"Um, well, Bulma's family and my family are good friends, that's all."

"And how do you know such a celebrity?"

"Well, I've known her since I was like, four."

"That didn't answer my question."

"But my dad met her when she was 16 and he was like 12."

"Oh. How?"

"I don't really know."

These were certainly not satisfying answers to the girl.

"Come on, Vi, leave the guy alone. Now's not the time to be investigating him. We're trying to save Sharpner's life!" snapped Erasa. She'd definitely reached her breaking point.

"Whoa. Erasa. I didn't know you could freak like that," said her best friend.

"Yeah, well I can. Just leave Gohan alone and let's get a move on. Maybe we should take a break and find shelter for a little bit so we're not in the open for so long."

That was another first. Erasa had just proposed an actually intelligent, fruitful idea.

"Because if that explosion _was _the hospital, we're just heading in the androids' direction."

Gohan and Videl were utterly astonished.

"So we should be cautious, right?" Erasa looked at her friends. "What?"

* * *

The blond man who had started off the students in their new city sat at his post. It was on a tower just beyond normal visible range of the outskirts of the ruined city. He looked at a screen (there was one for each student, as well as one for each android), and sighed. Nothing particularly exciting was happening. In fact, nothing seemed to be happening at all. Sharpner was the only one injured, and to the blond, it looked like he was going to live.

He just wished somebody would die. Sighing once again (that seemed to be a recurring theme in the experiment), he clicked the transmitter button on his microphone. "Seventeen, Eighteen, come in," he said, blandness in his voice.

"What?" they both answered in simultaneous annoyance.

"Get over here."

"Why should we?"

"Because I said so."

"Oh, I'm so scared."

"Yeah, I'm shaking in my boots."

"Just get over here, dammit!"

"'Kay."

So they went. They perched themselves on the edge of the watchtower, both in catlike positions. They looked at the blond man (whose name seemed to be forever unknown) with irritation.

"We were just starting to have some fun," uttered Seventeen.

"Well the people don't want to see you guys blow up stuff. Sponsors don't pay for that. They want some blood," hissed the blond. He wasn't hissing because they weren't killing anybody, per se, but he was hissing because they weren't fulfilling orders. They had to kill at least one person this first night, and it looked like they weren't going to make it. "Just find a nerd and kick him around some. You really should'nt've let the Son boy go."

"Yeah, yeah, but we're _saving _him," argued Eighteen. "His mom wouldn't let me hear the end of it if we just finished him off so quickly. Besides, Krillin said I should keep him alive at least for a little while, you know?"

"And, just how did he persuade you to do that?" murmured the blond.

If she had any blood flowing in her veins, she would be blushing.

* * *

On the tiny Kame Island, Krillin sneezed.

"You gettin' a cold, Krillin?" squawked the elderly (and immortal) Master Roshi. He sat on the couch of his small pink home shared by him, the anthropomorphic pig Oolong, Krillin, his wife, and daughter.

"How did I even sneeze?" exclaimed the bald former monk. "I don't have a nose!" He reached up to the space between his eyes and felt no budge. It was a conundrum that would never be answered.

"Looks like Gohan's gettin' some action there, ain't he? The lucky bastard, alone with two fine young women!" Master Roshi felt a drop of blood trickle down his face at the thought.

"Yeah, but that one girl's really givin' him a run for his money. I mean look at that glare!" Oolong shuddered. His expression changed to something a little more mischievous. "So, Krillin, how's it feel to be married to a psycho android who's trying to kill Gohan?"

The short man smiled worriedly. "Don't worry, I made sure Gohan'll live for at least a little while now."

As if on cue, Krillin's daughter, Marron, toddled in.

* * *

Knowing that the airhead blond girl was actually right for once, the group of four had found shelter in the basement of an apartment building. They'd walked about halfway to the hospital (about three and a half miles), so they were happy to be resting for once. Still, Gohan was looking at Erasa uneasily (just what had caused her moment of brilliance?), Videl was scowling at Gohan (just how was he so strong?), and Erasa was inspecting her nails (just how was her manicure supposed to hold up under all of this stress?).

"So, when do you think Sharpner will wake up?" asked Erasa conversationally.

Gohan shrugged. "He was kicked pretty hard in the face, I think. But I'm pretty sure his ego acted as an airbag and cushioned the blow." His attempt at humor went without laughter.

"Do you think his injuries are really serious? I mean, he's not gonna die, is he?" Suddenly the girl was seriously concerned for Sharpner's life.

"I don't know, I'm not a doctor. All I know how to do is not make injuries worse, y'know?" It was true. In all of his martial arts training, all he'd ever learned to do was how to take an injured person to a place where they could get treatment or pop an all healing senzu bean in their mouth.

Videl wanted to make a snark comment about Gohan's father not teaching him first aid, but ever since hearing that he'd died, she'd decided to drop the topic. "When should we move out?"

"I'd say about ten minutes. I'm feeling pretty good now," replied Gohan, almost cheerfully. Frankly, the basement was a bit dank, not to mention the tense atmosphere with Sharpner's unmoving form, Erasa's cycles of fidgeting and calm, and Videl's constant stare.

"But what if the androids show up just as soon as we leave?" shrieked Erasa, marking the start of one of her freak-outs. Her voice got quiet all of a sudden, "What if they're waiting for us? Right. Up. There?" She pointed up at the ceiling, flinching at all the imaginary noises it was making. It appeared the the blond was a basket case.

* * *

Speaking of basket cases...

Hercule Satan sat on his couch, garbed in his robe, his exceedingly hairy legs folded and feet stuck in fluffy slippers. The cordless phone in his hand looked like it would break at any moment. It wouldn't, of course, because it was made of the highest quality materials and Mr. Satan wasn't strong enough to break it.

"Chaz, bring me another plate of hot wings!" he barked at the servant. It seemed that nothing but hot wings would pull him through the long hours of being on hold. His eyes were still fixated on the screen of his t.v., which had just finished with an advertisement for woman's footwear. The model wearing the strappy black heels had a nice ass according to the martial arts champ.

The commercials ended and the show started up again. It cut straight to Gohan, Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner, as they were the only entertaining story occurring throughout the entire city. The cameras had shown a few nerds gathering supplies from broken down convenience stores, but it was nothing compared to the drama unfolding in the basement of the apartment building. It was so dramatic that a one Chi Chi Son had to utilize a tissue.

* * *

"Just look at them! How is my little boy supposed to survive in a place like that!" wailed the widowed housewife.

"Suck it up, harpy. That boy may be a brat, but he's a Saiyan," gruffed Vegeta. His arms were crossed and his muscles were bulging in an oh-so-threatening, but oh-so-sexy way. "No way is that boy going down without a fight. I'll see to that."

"No, you won't. If you try to interfere with this experiment, no sex for a month," threatened his blue haired wife, who was still busily sucking on a cigarette. She paused for a moment to cough violently.

"Hey, mom," began Goten.

"It's nothing, dear."

"But-"

"Go play with Trunks, okay?"

"Okay."

Chi Chi sighed. Being a single mother was hard, she supposed. Then again, it wasn't like her husband did anything to help with the children... No! She musn't think like that! Maybe she just needed a drink. She was feeling pretty stressed out. "Hey, Bulma..."

* * *

Yamcha was mentally cursing himself for not being more assertive towards Bulma. This was his fifth call into Satan City that day. What was it with criminals and overblown, elaborate schemes? He would never know. For almost thirty years of his life, he'd been dealing with evil guys who just couldn't go for the direct approach when it came to crime.

He shook his head and looked over his next sequence of choreography mentally. He was seriously wondering about Gohan's sanity. _Just what in the hell caused him to think _this_ was cool? I mean, all this posing? Really, Gohan? Really? _He decided that when the teenager got home, they'd have to have a serious talk about his taste level.

That is, of course, if Gohan got home before Videl could skin him alive for not telling her everything she wanted to know.

* * *

_A/N: Sorry for the slight Goku bashing, but you know it's true. :D_


	5. Mega Martin AranGero

Martin was a nerd. He was the kind of nerd that watched Battle: West City, built robots, did math for fun, corrected people's grammar on the internet... you know, stuff like that. He was so incredibly nerdy that he wasn't even the "cool" kind of nerd that other people liked because he helped them do well on schoolwork. No, he was the "I Follow the Rules" kind of nerd. So he felt a little guilty as he looked at his creation.

It wasn't against the rules. In fact, as he recalled, there weren't that many rules. Actually, he couldn't remember that one blond guy telling him anything. He adjusted his glasses (which were surprisingly thin), and sighed. At least this would keep him alive. He couldn't help but smile. Surely this would earn him some kind of prize when he got out of this place. Just as long as those androids didn't blow it up, he was happy.

Speaking of the androids, he was very intrigued by them. He wanted to know how they worked. What kind of operating system did they run? How could they fly? How did they have personalities? Did Bulma Briefs (one of his idols, right next to her father, Dr. Briefs, of course. Her beauty was just a perk that Martin didn't mind too much) build them, or did someone else? If only he could meet with them and pick their automated brains for their secrets.

It seemed like his wish was coming true. After Seventeen and Eighteen met with Blondie, they'd been told to kill someone "or else". They really didn't care what "or else" meant, but they were feeling a bit frustrated by having to deal with Blondie, so they needed to blow off a little steam. They scoured the city, not to find anyone for quite some time. The hiding capabilities of high school students were very developed.

They did, however, stumble upon Martin. "A nerd," uttered Seventeen.

"This should be easy," replied Eighteen.

"At least it'll get Blondie off our back."

"Yeah, let's hope so."

And so they swooped down onto the boy. Martin noticed them immediately and retreated back inside of the old car dealer he'd made his base at. The androids smirked.

"You can run, but you can't hide," laughed Seventeen.

"That line is sorely overused. Besides, where is he going to go? He's inside a _garage_," sighed his twin.

"Fine, ruin my fun, why don't you?"

"Gladly."

"Sorry, you two, it looks like _I'll _be ruining your fun." The voice came from inside the garage. It was quite loud. Martin burst out, his body inside of what looked to be some sort of robot exoskeleton. It was reminiscent to those of Red Ribbon Army fame. Still, it was crudely made of car parts and computers.

"And just who are you?" asked Eighteen casually.

"I am Martin Gero!" cackled the bespectacled nerd.

"Gero?" growled the androids in unison. Anything having to do with their creator absolutely irked them.

"No, just kidding, that guy was crazy!" Martin would've doubled over laughing, had he not been restrained by the exoskeleton. "Anyway, I'm going to destroy you two!"

"That was a really stupid joke," said Seventeen.

"Yes, truly tasteless," agreed Eighteen.

"We should kill him for it."

"Eh, I guess so. More like killing him for ratings, but whatever."

The siblings ran at Martin. He was slow, and couldn't move quickly enough to escape from the twins' double kick. The bombarded him with a quick series of kicks and punches, trying to knock him to the ground. "This isn't working, Seventeen," hissed Eighteen.

"Fine, then. Let's take to the skies." Seventeen was actually very upset at the fact that his favorite strategy, the Accel Dance, had been all in vain. "His metal exterior may be able to withstand our physical attacks, but not our energy ones."

"I think a Power Blitz is in order."

"Oh, really? I was thinking more of a Photon Flash."

"How about both?"

"That works."

The androids stopped about fifty feet above Martin, and held our their right arms. Eighteen began to gather energy in her palm. It took the form of a pink and white sphere. Seventeen, on the other hand, gathered yellow energy. "Ready, sis?" he asked.

"I think so."

Eighteen and Seventeen unleashed the energy, sending it down to the exoskeleton in the form of a pink and golden wave, respectively. Martin's exoskeleton chugged slowly, trying to escape, but it was in vain. The energy hit him full-on, as well as some of the area around him. Everything below was engulfed in smoke.

"That was fun," chuckled Seventeen. "I kind of missed recklessly destroying others, didn't you?"

"I guess." Eighteen sighed.

Seventeen scowled at his sister. "You know, you got a lot less fun after you had a baby."

"Whatever."

As they were talking, Martin was making his escape. The exoskeleton had just barely protected him from the blasts, and it was nothing but a pile of scrap metal and ashes. If he'd had more time, the nerd would've mourned the loss. Still, it was only a prototype, seeing as the sluggish speed of it greatly hindered its power. He made his way back to the garage, ready to try out his _other _amazing creation. He was incredibly pleased with how much work he'd done in such a short time. Anywhere else, he'd be praised for it.

Now, Martin was a nerd, not an expert of battle. He should have been retreating about now. He'd never tested his next creation, so it could've been a huge disaster like his first, but he was just too damn excited to try it out against the androids. Sometimes, even nerds could be stupid.

"Look, I don't want to talk about this," muttered Eighteen. She crossed her arms and turned away from her brother.

"Why not?" teased Seventeen. "_I'm _having fun."

"Well that's all that matters, isn't it?"

"Of course."

His sister reached up to smack him, but she was interrupted by an explosion. The both looked down at the ground. "What? That nerd didn't die?"

"What a disappointment."

Martin was feeling smug. He could move much faster in this suit than in his other one. He knew this because he was already in the skies beside the androids in a matter of seconds, thanks to the rockets he'd made out of a luxury sports car. "I would never go down _that_ easily!" He was smiling. He looked a little like a mix between Mega Man and Samus. Kind of.

"What is this? Nintendo vs. Capcom?" cried Seventeen. He glared at Martin, and raised his fist at him. "For this, you are going _down_."

"What, now you're a video game nerd?" wondered Eighteen.

"Hey, what's wrong with that? I'm in a video game, after all."

"Whatever."

Seventeen raised his hands above his head and started focusing two spheres of energy in his palms. They were a pinkish-purple in color. Eighteen took this as her cue to get behind Seventeen and watch. She could care less about this nerd. Martin laughed. He couldn't conjure any special energy-based attacks in this suit, but that didn't matter. He could dodge easily and had (theoretically) immense strength.

"For besmirching the name of video games!" shouted Seventeen as he threw the spheres in his hands at Martin. The nerd quickly got out of the way, giggling like a little schoolgirl.

"Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me!" The nerd was mostly directing the comment to Eighteen.

"Sorry, I'll just kill you instead," joked Seventeen, controlling the spheres. They came rapidly towards him, crashing into Martin. They exploded on contact. The boy laughed. "Well, just look at the show." It appeared that the nerd hadn't made his way out of that one.

"Happy, Blondie?" said Eighteen to a random point in the sky.

* * *

Gohan, Videl, and Erasa had started moving again. The two girls had no idea of the fight that had just occurred, but Gohan felt the _ki_ of a student disappear. He deemed Sharpner lucky for living. "We should make it to the hospital in about forty-five minutes."

"Good," growled Videl. Her own sanity was slowly diminishing between trying to wear down Gohan passive-aggressively and having to calm down Erasa's fragile psyche every five minutes. She just had to last forty-five more minutes. A thought popped into her mind. "What exactly are we going to do once we make it to the hospital? You said yourself that you don't know what to do."

The boy sighed. It was true. "Well, I'm pretty sure that his arm's broken. I saw Eighteen kick him pretty dam- er, darn, hard." He just remembered that his mom would be watching, according to her last words to him before he left. "So I guess we'll try to find something to set that correctly and give him some medicine or whatever."

"Sounds like a great plan," uttered Videl sarcastically.

"Well, unless you've got something better to do!" huffed Gohan. That took the raven-haired fighter by surprise. In fact, it took everyone by surprise. Even Gohan didn't know where that came from.

"Whoa, calm down. There's no need to get so upset," chimed in Erasa. She was in one of her "Why Can't We All Just Get Along?" moods. It was like she was developing schizophrenia.

"Yeah, Gohan, what's your problem? It's not like anything's happened to any of us except for Sharpner, and he's unconscious. Thank Kami, too, because if he wasn't, we'd all be hearing about it, even an hour after it happened," added Videl.

Gohan was silent. He did have a problem, and it had to do with the fact that he couldn't get any personal space with Videl's dagger-shooting eyes staring him down every second of the day. "Look, maybe we should all just be quiet for the rest of the way there. I think all of our brains would appreciate a little silence."

The girls stopped talking, but Videl didn't like it. Still, she couldn't help but agree with him. Her own head was threatening to explode any second.

The trip wasn't completely quiet, though. Erasa still had her panic attacks where she would start whimpering and hyperventilating, and Videl had to all but slap her to shut her up. It seemed like they weren't going to need to get help for just Sharpner anymore. Maybe they could find a sedative to knock her out for a while...

* * *

Mr. Satan had all but forgotten his phone call to Bulma between the commercials filled with women that he couldn't help but stare at and the gripping battle between the nerd and the androids. "You see? This is why I'm the champ! I could take those two andridiots without the help of some stupid-ass robot suit!" He laughed uncontrollably at "andridiots".

"Yes, I'm sure you could," assented the servant offering the champ yet another platter of hot wings.

Hercule took one and said, "I'd give them the old Megaton Punch!" He swung at the air, hot wing still in his fist. "That'd take them both out with one move!"

"Mmhmm..."

* * *

"Are we almost there yet?" whined Erasa. Gohan's ears twitched at the sound of her voice. They'd gone almost ten minutes without a word between them.

"I think so," answered Videl. "It's been about forty minutes. We should be seeing it soon."

And so they did.

Well, they saw it's remains, anyway. Their fears were realized when they saw that the androids had bombed the place. Erasa burst into tears. "NO, WHY?" she cried. "Now Sharpner's going to die and there's nothing we can do!" Videl's face twisted with irritation.

SLAP!

"Get a hold of yourself!" screamed the black-haired girl. "Just because the building is destroyed, doesn't mean the stuff inside of it is unusable!"

"Oh, right... Thanks, Videl," murmured Erasa, rubbing her cheek.

"We should get searching. We've got a couple hours until it's going to start getting dark. We'll want to have built a shelter and found some supplies. We should split up to be more effective," proposed Gohan.

Videl cocked an eyebrow and stared at him. Someone was going to have to take Erasa with them. They stared at each other for almost five minutes.

"Me and ViVi will go together!" squealed the blond girl. She grabbed her best friend and started to tug her away. Yes, she definitely was getting a little schizophrenic.

That left Gohan alone with the useless lump that was Sharpner. Videl turned back to Gohan, "We'll look for medical supplies and food!" she shouted, just before going out of earshot.

Two hours later, Gohan had found an area of the hospital that hadn't been completely destroyed and set Sharpner there. He then left and found wood to burn and curtains use to keep warm. It was anybody's guess what the elements might be like on their first night. Videl and Erasa had been wandering around the ruins, collecting things they thought would be useful.

They made their way back to where they'd began their search. They saw a flicker of light and headed towards it, finding Gohan lighting a fire. "Hey," greeted Videl. "We found some bandages and stuff." She pulled out her capsule and pushed the release button on it and tossed it to the ground. The storage container appeared through white smoke. The girl pulled out what they found:

_4 rolls of gauze_

_2 bags of assorted food items_

_6 bottles of assorted medications_

_3 blankets_

_2 pillows_

"It's not much, but it'll work. I found some curtains we can use as blankets and some straight pieces of wood (I think they're from walls or something) that we can use to bind Sharpner's arm," said Gohan.

"We should get started on that, like, now," stated the girl.

"Probably. Hand me some of those bandages."

"What? _You're _going to do it?"

"Yeah, is that a problem?"

"Well, you said you've never done anything like this before."

"No, but neither have you!"

"Yeah, but I've at least wrapped ankles and wrists and stuff!"

Touché.

Videl grabbed a piece of wood and a roll of gauze. "Can you hold his arm up for me?" she asked Gohan.

He did so wordlessly. She put the wood next to his humerus and began to wrap the arm. After she was done, she placed it delicately on some concrete next to Sharpner. "There. That should help, right?"

"Let's hope so." Gohan's stomach growled. Loudly.

Videl smirked. "Hungry?" Then hers grumbled.

"Let's eat."

* * *

**A/N: As planned, a more "action packed" chapter... I hope! ^^"**

**No Chi Chi/Bulma/Yamcha/Vegeta, etc. in this one. I thought Chi Chi needed a chapter to get drunk. :3**

**Review, please!**

**:D**

**Also, Mega Man is owned by Capcom, and Samus is owned by Nintendo. :) I was feeling like a little video game nerd today...**


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